Without You
by Luke Skywalker
Summary: After the Epilogue, Ginny is married to Harry. They have three happy children and live their ideal life. However, dangers still remain in the wizarding world, and what will Ginny do when the Boy Who Lived's luck runs out? Contains main character death.
1. Chapter 1

_We all know that Harry prevails in DH, that he goes on to have a loving family with everyone's favorite Weasley daughter, Ginny, but what about after the Epilogue? Based off a fan film I saw, though I'm placing it farther in the future. I own no part of the Harry Potter universe._

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She had been quietly reading in the sitting room of her comfortable home when she got the owl from her sister-in-law. Her toes had just become toasty warm, and the book was at its climax when Pig had tapped on the windowpane. As soon as the hurriedly scribbled words sunk into her brain, Ginny Potter had let the note flutter noiselessly to the floor.

_Come to St. Mungo's now! Ron's injured and Harry's critical_

She saw her family clustered at the end of the hall on the ground floor of the hospital. The first one to meet her after her long dash towards them was her mother, but Molly Weasley's embrace did nothing to calm her shaking daughter's body. Thank Merlin her children were at school – James Sirius was in his final year, Albus Severus his fifth, and Lily Luna her fourth.

Molly let Ginny go and passed her off to Hermione. The two women held each other more tightly than they had since the night Voldemort had been defeated. Ginny felt Hermione's hot tears on her exposed neck, but Ginny would not open the floodgates – not yet.

"What happened, Hermione?" Ginny croaked, and the older woman pulled away, wiping her eyes roughly. "I thought they were on a routine assignment."

Hermione shook her head. "They were actually on a special ops assignment to Bulgaria – Kingsley just told me. They were assigned, along with a few others to investigate suspected dark activity relating to one of the professors at Durmstrang…"

"But isn't that outside their jurisdiction?" Ginny started.

"Normally yes," the deep voice of Kingsley Shackelbolt said from behind Hermione, and Ginny turned sharp eyes to her Minister. "But Harry and Ron had received intelligence that linked terrorist groups in England to this man and his underground group of radicals in Bulgaria. Potter and his group had effectively gained enough evidence of the professors' illegal activities both in Europe and England to make an arrest, but in the event of taking him into custody, the group of Aurors was attacked; someone had tipped him off. Unfortunately, one of our Aurors was killed, and Ron and Harry were seriously injured. If it hadn't been for Teddy Lupin and his cool intellect, Harry and Ron wouldn't have made it out."

"Where is Teddy?" Ginny suddenly demanded.

"I'm here, Aunt Ginny," she heard an uncharacteristically small voice from the row of chairs lining the wall. She went to the suddenly small-looking figure of her adopted godson and knelt in front of him. His hair was ebony, and his eyes were locked on the floor. Never had Ginny seen him this… vulnerable. She gently took his hands and kissed the knuckles on each one. Only then did Teddy look up, and Ginny almost cried from the look on his face and the tear tracks still evident streaking down his cheeks. The pair stared at each other for several long moments before Ginny reached up and pulled the young man into her matronly arms. Teddy returned the hug and immediately began whispering to her. "I'm sorry, Aunt Ginny, I'm so sorry. If I had only been quicker, if we had only known it was a trap… I – it's my fault."

Ginny shushed him though she felt like shedding a few tears as well. "It is not your fault, Teddy. No one blames you. I don't blame you. I'm just glad you're all right." She stroked his hair, which reminded her so much of Harry's at the moment, and kissed his cheek before letting go of him and facing Hermione and her mother again.

"So," she asked slowly, "what's going to happen?"

Hermione chanced a glance at her mother-in-law quickly, and Molly only covered her face with her hand and turned away into the arms of George. It was him who spoke to his sister.

"Ron had a huge slash up the left side of his body, probably courtesy of Sectumsempora, and he has a lot of nerve damage because of it. The healers and nurses are working their hardest to fix everything, but he may not be able to walk without assistance any more." Ginny noticed her brother was barely holding back tears as well. Ron not being able to walk, it would devastate him. George took Hermione's hand and squeezed it while Ginny ran her tongue over her lips before meeting her brother's eyes again.

"And Harry?" George and Hermione shared a glance that Ginny did not like at all. "What about my husband?"

Hermione choked back a sob and George took a deep breath. "Ginny, Harry took a blow to the head and was hit in the chest a few times with some really dark curses. He was unconscious immediately. He's alive… but they don't know if he'll wake up."

Ginny glanced between George and Hermione, waiting for one of them to let her in on the joke. Harry really only had a few scratches, he always did, and maybe was poisoned by something that took them a while to figure out, right? But the looks from her family told her the truth. Her husband was barely alive, and there was nothing she could do but wait. Hermione took her in her arms again and sobbed. Ginny felt the stinging of tears around her eyelids, but couldn't blink to let them fall. It was too soon. Ginny felt George put his hand on her shoulder and her mother hugged her two daughters.

"They said they would let us know… when… well, when everything was all right," Molly said, and Ginny nodded numbly. She pulled herself away from her family as suddenly her brain began working in overdrive.

"I have to tell the kids. I have to write to McGonagall. They need to come home. What are they going to say…"

"Ginny sweetie, slow down, please," her mother said, taking her arm and forcing her into a seat. "There will be time to do that, but right now you need to sit down. They should be coming soon with news on them, all right. Just sit here, darling. George, will you get her some water, please!"

George ran off and Hermione gently took Ginny's hand while sitting next to her. Ginny realized that Hermione was dealing with the same worries, and if she could face them head-on, then so could Ginny.

Two hours later, Hermione was asleep with her head on Molly's lap and Ginny was leaning on Teddy's shoulder. She still had not allowed herself to cry. There was no point if everything was going to be all right… right? Her godson stroked her back soothingly, but inside Ginny's stomach was turning, waiting for the news, any news… anything.

"Excuse me," she suddenly heard a voice say, and she looked up into the face of a male healer around her age, "are you Mrs. Potter?"

Her head shot off Teddy's shoulder like a firecracker, and she stood up to look the man in the eye. Her swift movement caused Molly and Hermione to stir and rise as well, and Arthur and George came up behind the women.

"Yes, I'm Ginny Potter," she said, her voice shaking uncontrollably. The healer nodded then turned to Hermione.

"And Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione nodded. "I have news of your husbands." Both women nodded and Ginny took Hermione's hand and squeezed as the healer continued. "Ron is going to be fine. He's lost a lot of blood, so he's going to be a little out of it for a few days. We were able to repair much of the nerve damage to his leg, but he will still need a cane, possibly for the rest of his life, and he will need to see a physical therapist for a while." Hermione sighed and Molly wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"And Harry? What about Harry?"

The healer turned towards Ginny, who now found she was trembling. "Mrs. Potter," Ginny inhaled sharply, "your husband sustained brutal injuries to his chest and head. He had massive amounts of internal bleeding, and because of the distance he had to travel before he arrived, the damage was too extensive. We did the best we could, but… I'm so sorry, Mrs. Potter, but your husband died a few minutes ago."

Ginny slapped him. The tears had begun to fall as her hands flew to her face with shock. The healer looked back at her, but his face was filled with nothing but sympathy and sorrow. "I'm so sorry," he said again, before he turned to Molly, softly muttering that he had to get back, and turned back down the hall to look after Ron.

Everything seemed in slow motion for Ginny. Her ears began ringing, she could hear her breathing and heartbeat speeding up, and she felt her knees giving way as she fell to the floor. She felt someone catch her before she hit the ground, but didn't know whom. Rogue tears streaked down her face. He couldn't be dead. He had come back before… in the battle… when Voldemort… no, he couldn't be dead. The ringing in her ears let up, and she glanced around her, gaining her bearings again. She looked up at Teddy's devastated face before turning back down the hall, following the healer away. Harry was down there somewhere, and she needed to see him. She broke free from her godson's grip on her arms and ran down the hall after the man before she caught up with him and took his hand.

"Please let me see him," she begged. The healer looked around almost frantically before taking her by the shoulders and looking her in the eye.

"Mrs. Potter, I would like for the nurses to clean up your husband's body before I let you do that."

"I don't give a DAMN what he _looks_ like!" Ginny screamed before reigning in her fury. "Please. He's the father of my children, for Merlin's sake! I need to see him."

The healer regarded her silently for a moment before nodding and leading her only a few doors away. He told her to wait outside, asked the nurses to leave, and then turned back to Ginny. "Take all the time you need." The healer walked noiselessly down the hall. Ginny took a deep shaky breath, and entered the room.

He looked like he was sleeping. She saw the deep bruise on his exposed chest, which seemed paler than usual, and the bloody gash in his temple was hard to miss, but he was still her Harry. Ginny slowly took one jelly-like step after another before she collapsed onto her knees at her husband's bedside. With much effort, she pushed herself up until she was sitting on the bed looking down at his silent face. Over the years, fine lines had begun to show, but they were hardly from worry much any more. They were from laughter and happiness – happiness over his free life, as part of a family, as a husband, as a father to their children. Now, those lines were barely visible as he was eerily still. Ginny felt the corners of her mouth twitch as she softly touched the hair on his undamaged temple – much to Harry's dismay it had just started to turn gray. She ran her hand down his cheek and along his jaw line, expecting him at any moment to take her hand in his and open his stunning green eyes as he had so many times when she woke him in the same fashion. But she knew in her heart he never would.

It was at that moment that Ginny collapsed on Harry's body, burying her face in his cooling neck, and cried. She didn't know the last time she had ever cried so hard. Not even when Fred had died had she known such pain, a deep-seeded nauseating pain that made her double over and she doubted would ever recede. Harry's comforting arms would never wrap around her ever again, he would never hold her again, and he would never kiss her again.

"Oh God, Harry," she sobbed. "What am I going to do without you?"

No answer came, and Ginny's tears only came harder.

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_I know, rarely does Harry die in stories, sorry. I'm thinking of a second chapter where we see the kids reactions, but let me know if it's even necessary :) Cheers all!_


	2. Chapter 2

Albus Severus Potter sat quietly at a table in the vast library of Hogwarts, the large book spread eagle on the heavy oak in front of him. He sighed heavily as he turned the page of his Charms textbook, little emotion upon his face. Albus was hardly ever bored with Charms, but he had been in a foul mood since yesterday, and James' daily goading about the difficulty of his younger brother's OWL exams not helping in the slightest. Albus hadn't even had the energy to remind his eldest sibling of his _own_ impending exams/doom.

The Charms in front of him began blurring and swimming into each other and he blinked. Albus rubbed his eyes before slamming the book shut with a loud snap. Several heads shot up around the library to look at him, followed by a few exclamations of "Shh!". Albus sighed again and his head fell to the table with a thud. What the hell was wrong with him? The next Hogsmeade weekend was tomorrow, Gryffindor was in line to hopefully win at Quidditch, and it was finally getting warmer up in the Scottish highlands. Coming from the South, Albus wasn't overly used to the biting cold continuing this long, so by all accounts he should be happy! But he just didn't feel right.

"Hiya," a soft voice said over him. Albus didn't need to look up to know who it was. His friend Alia sat beside him carefully and tried to meet his eyes through his folded arms. "You okay there?"

Albus sat up and looked at his friend. She was looking at him with concern and confusion, as he was sure she only saw him like his for a good reason. "I dunno," he said, scratching the back of his head, something his mum said he picked up from his father. Alia pursed her lips before yanking the Charms book out from under Albus' hands. "Hey!"

"You need to take a break! It's almost time for dinner anyway. C'mon." She got up and held his book tightly to her chest until he relented, then helped pack up the rest of his bag and led the way out of the library. "Hmm," she mused, "normally I get more of a fight than that."

Albus just shrugged as they walked through the corridors toward the Great Hall, following the crowd. Alia seemed to sense his desire for silence as they walked together without talking. Albus had really come out of his shell when he got to Hogwarts and he had more options for company besides his own siblings. He had developed into a talkative young man, much to the happiness of his parents, so his mood today was almost unnatural.

They rounded the corner to the Great Hall. "Al!" Hearing his name, Albus spun to find the speaker, and his younger sister Lily came up from the doorway. "We have to go see Professor McGonagall."

"Why?"

"I dunno, Rose just told me she wanted to see all three of us in her office."

"Where's James, then?"

A strong pair of arms suddenly grabbed Albus from behind. He yelped as a fist rubbed harshly into his skull. After much struggling, he broke free and smacked his brother James across the shoulder. James continued to laugh.

"You've gotta chill out, little brother." Albus hung his head. Even if he had transformed at school, when around his family he found it hard not to somewhat pull back into his shell.

Lily gave James a hard look that even for her age was remarkably like their mum's. "C'mon boys, we need to go." She began walking away towards the headmaster's office. When she didn't hear her brothers behind her, she turned and set her feet. James and Albus knew better, and followed their sister.

They entered through the imposing door, James, ever the confident one, leading the way with his usual swagger. Dad always said he got it from his granddad and namesake, who in his own time was a regular visitor to the Head Master's office. Albus and Lily followed more uneasily behind.

"Head Mistress?" Lily called. There was a small shuffling and Minerva McGonagall came to the top of the stairs. She said nothing, simply walked down the stairs and began ushering them up towards her desk. Albus' heart started beating harder.

"Professor, what's wrong?" he asked quietly. Lily shot him a worried look, and he followed her gaze to the chair beside the fireplace of the office. "Mum?"

Ginny looked up and Lily gasped. Her eyes were red and she had tried in vain to cover the bags under her eyes. Even James was quieted by the state of his mother. The three Potter children simply stared. Ginny looked like she had been through hell, but what was she doing here? Ginny locked eyes with her middle child and her look became harder, more difficult to hold, and Albus dropped his gaze to the floor.

"Mum, what are you doing here?" Lily asked, her voice shaking a bit. James took his sisters' hand and squeezed. Albus felt a cold hand under his chin that lifted his head to look into his mother's eyes as she stood in front of him. He hadn't even heard her stand. As she looked at her son, tears began welling up along the brim of her eyes. She stroked his hair, his cheek, his chin and a few tears slipped down her cheeks. James touched his mum on the shoulder.

"Mum?"

Ginny was broken from her trance and she looked up at her eldest. She became pensive and glanced between her three children with uncertainty. She was the most confident, no-nonsense woman Albus knew, and the way she was acting now was frankly frightening. She sighed.

"I need you three to sit down."

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><p><strong>I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to continue with this story, I lost the voice and didn't want to give you guys a sub-par chapter. At the moment, I'm trying to work on the relationship between Albus and Ginny, any thoughts?<br>**

**There will be one final chapter to this story and I'm working on it a bit more diligently now, though my website will have to take precedence. I will post as soon as it's done.**


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